


Jab We Met

by Bananzami



Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Jab We Met (2007), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:40:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29034054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bananzami/pseuds/Bananzami
Relationships: Geet Dhillon/Aditya Kashyap, James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Barnes kept quiet. 

No Thanos, no locust, no plague. No team. 

Not much of one anyway. And, honestly, there wasn’t much to do. 

Barnes crossed the village greens at the Capitol building, down Constitution Avenue and then followed the asphalt trails crisscrossing Lower Senate Park, thankful of the dark green shadows haunting the lawns and their wispy old man beards of Spanish moss. 

Barnes hadn’t planned on walking out of the defense meeting. It had sort of… happened. 

And the thing was... 

No alarms were raised.

Nobody even stopped him. 

Nobody had even noticed. 

A freckled, vaguely hispanic boy with box braids cut to his chin was hawking baseball caps and water bottles to anyone with a map or fanny pack. On recognizing Barnes, the sweat had collected in all four hairs on his upper lip and, sputtering nonsensically. But, when Barnes held out a ten for a hat, the boy had waved off the bill and instead asked if Mr. Winter Soldier would please autograph his drinks cooler. Maybe a hat or two? Tourists were apparently all suckers. 

When Barnes pocketed the kid’s sharpie and moved off, the boy was quick to fold up his blanket of wares and set his cooler on a rickety red dolly and followed him. 

Barnes pulled the Nasa cap lower and slowed into an ambling shuffle as the kid told him about how the kabob cart off 1st and Massachusetts Ave skimped on onions and the best ways to scalp tickets to the Spy Museum. 

A nigh eternity later they’d covered a mile and ducked into the shade of the marble cathedral known as Union Station. Barnes extracted the sim card and passed the kid his cell in parting. If the team wanted to get a hold of him, well, they knew where he was. What with a price on his head, he’d a tracker cut behind his ear, up his spine, and in his arm. Likely more, but he hadn’t the clearance to know. 

He’d already wandered away to glare at the kiosk with train departures scrawled in angry orange block print when soft slapping came to a sudden halt beside him and pushed a bottle of water at him. Barnes pinched it between his thumb and forefinger and watched beads of condensation drip to the checkered marble tiling. He didn’t have change on him. But the kid only saluted dramatically, a blush staining his freckles, and vanished behind a fleet of men Barnes’ own age on motorized wheelchairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Bucky Meets Magpie

8:08 pm Eastern Time   
Union Station  
Compartment 4, Seat 23

Barnes ducked into the last compartment. The coach had an open plan saloon set-up, a center aisle with two seats on either side so sets of four seats face to face. Scuffed grey vinyl floors. Barred windows. Blue pleather upholstery. Plenty of legroom. Perfect.

The girl was a magpie. Giant silver gypsy hoops caught the light as she ducked to check seat numbers. 

She walked by him once. Twice. 

“Oi!”

Barnes squinted up. The magpie wrists dripping with silver, was making a box shape with her thumb and forefinger. Oh, god. She wanted a picture. Fucking Hill and her fucking publicity stunts and goodwill tours. Barnes crouched further into his seat and closed his eyes, and play dead. Maybe he’d get lucky and his soul would just leave already.

She kicked his ankle. The hell. 

Barnes squinted up at her. What?

The girl pulled into a mockery of a smile and made the boxing thing again. He shrugged and pulled his hat lower. The girl dropped her hands.

Safe. 

And then she was waving a white ticket in his face. 

Ah… he was in her seat. 

Barnes took his cap and nodded in apology before wandering off to the back end of the train car to one of the slim balconies where another car could be attached. 

Barnes hit the manual override switch, sent a quick EMP charge to short circuit the alarm and then lifted the sliding door a hair up and over to unlock it before sliding it open. Smells of pine and oil and exhaust rushed and took him back. 

He could step off now. Or he got to a weigh station or other modicum of human activity. 

He caught something silver flash behind him and dropped into a widened stance. 

The magpie was back. This time gesticulating wildly with a toothbrush thoroughly incensed over something or other, not that he could understand any of it over the roar of wheels and wind. 

Kids these days. No sense of common courtesy.


End file.
